KARORI'S ABSORPTION

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 69, 15 December 1919, Page 3

KARORI'S ABSORPTION

A BIGGER METROPOLITAN AREA THE MAYOR'S DICTUM Iho poll of Karori electors," said tin Mayor (Mr. ,1. I', Luke) yesterday, "re Aealed tho fact that a groat majority ol the people of that district were of opinioi that tho development nncl proves? of th< borough lies in an allianco with tho C!it; of A\ elliugton. 'l'he very positivo voti recorded showed that '.here was littli doubt in the. minds of those concernei that tho extension of services and tin genoral expansion of the district will b< _ pursued with the greatest dispatch pos Bible. Tho amalgamation will not onl; bo to tho advantage of Kaiori Borough but to other districts iying adjacent t< Karori. There is 1:0 doubt that, witl the rapid increase of trndo and com nierco now taking plaeo in "Wellington, 1 groat number of places in tho city nov used for residential purposes will as tinu Roes on give place to buildings that wil be utilised for commercial purposes. Tha' process is now going 011, perhaps mori rapidly than at any timo in the history of the city, and it will make tremciulou: demands on the suburbs for residentia settlement, particularly when the ship pin.:; restrictions relax, and other peopli begin to arrive from onlsido Now Zea land. "I want to congratulato the Karor people on the step they have taken, an< to assure them, on behalf of the Cit; Council and citizens, that, no slono wil be left unturned to facilitate the progres of the district, as is already being dom in respect to Onslow." It is of special interest at the presen time for citizens to know exactly wha Karori Borough consists of. The borougl was constituted in 1891, and in 1910 it liat n population of 1G47. The rateable valm •of Karori (unimproved) is .£287,550, am its area is 2240 acres. The borough i Intimately related to Wellington City, ii that the city has its cemetery within tin borough, and naturally as time goes 01 the city must have closer association witl tliat part of the country, and it was .tin Karori Borough Council which originally ox-tended the tramway system from th< Botanical Gardens to the cemetery gates ; the line which was subsequently extender to Karori Parle (tho section which ha; given the Jvarori Borough Council a (root deal of anxious thought). Karori is 1 fairly well maintained borough, with goot streets, most of which are kerbed ant channelled. Its chief defect- is that il has no gravitation water supply, and coir seqneutlv 110 drainage system. This is tin big work ahead as far as Karori is concerned. and it is hardly likely that then will be very jranid growth until siicli facilities are provided. Karori has a fine asset in its 54-aerc recreation ground, of which some 2ft acre? nre levelled and are in use as football and liockey grounds and croquet lawns. The streets are lighted with electric light, The council has a library and reading room, to which there wore 5-4 subscribers ill 1918. Tho borough owns three miles of tramways, of which Iflft chains arc within the city boundary. The capital cost of tho tramways was about *£145,(100. The following gives a clear idea of the borouglr's indebtedness 011 account of loans (up till Starch 31. 1017), together with tho accrued sinking funds against the same:— Sinkine Loan. Fund. No. 1 tunnel and road im'provemcnts 4,01)0 3,5-11 No. 2 tunnel and road im-. provements 2,C00 I,G7E No. 3 tunnel and road improvements 2,000 1,425 Tramway, road widening, and recreation ground 37,000 4,52!1 Completion tramway, 01c.... 17,000 2,072 Completion laying out of rccrcation ground 2,000 179 'Tramway extension and crushing plant 2fi,(K)o I,G!)G .£90,000 .£15,127 -Karon will automatically become a